Tag Archives: Grizzly Bears

Grizzly Waiting for Lunch

Grizzly bear waiting

This was the before photo for the  Nov. 7th posting. Not all grizzly bears are good salmon catchers but this one had the patience to wait and save energy until a fish came close. The photo was taken from the viewing stands that we use after August 24th.

 

 

Fall Grizzly Bear Fishing

Grizzly bear DiningThis is the more “expected photo” of a grizzly bear than yesterdays posting. In late August once the salmon have arrived in the rivers of Knight Inlet the grizzlies have access to their preferred food – salmon. This is the food that provides the necessary calories for the bears to add the layer of fat need for them to survive hibernation.

 

 

Spring Grizzly Bear Grazing

Grizzly bear grazing“Bears are omnivores that have relatively unspecialized digestive systems similar to those of carnivores. The primary difference is that bears have an elongated digestive tract, an adaptation that allows bears more efficient digestion of vegetation than other carnivores (Herrero 1985). Unlike ruminants, bears do not have a cecum and can only poorly digest the structural components of plants (Mealey 1975). To compensate for inefficient digestion of cellulose, bears maximize the quality of vegetal food items ingested, typically foraging for plants in phenological stages of highest nutrient availability and digestibility (Herrero 1985).” From Yellowstone
National Park website. Its fun to quote sites that give scientific facts for: – grizzlies eat anything and in the spring sedge grass is consumed in great amounts because they are not cows and have a hard time digesting the high protein sedge grass. But it is still strange seeing such a large animal with a fierce reputation eating grass.

 

 

Evening Black Bear Tour 2 0f 2

black bear tourYes this is an evening black bear tour and this is a mother grizzly bear with two first year cubs. This bear spent most of the summer in an area that was less then a twenty minute boat ride from the lodge. Some mornings she was observed on the way to the whales and other evening on a black bear tour. This evening we followed them along the shore for close to an hour which extended our evening tour so we got back just before dark. Our lodge does not have a tight schedule requiring us to be back at the lodge at a set time so if we find something worth watching, we watch.

 

 

Grizzly Bear Waiting

Grizzly Bear Fishing

The splash in the lower right corner of this photo has the grizzlies full attention. The splash is from a school of salmon moving up river and this means it is lunchtime. The grizzly is waiting in a deep pool for the salmon to cross over a shallow bar. In most cases the grizzly would be in the shallow water as it is easier to catch the salmon but not all bears are created equal and this bear soon learned that deep water is not the best place to wait.

 

Grizzly bear at the gate

Grizzly wanting INThe viewing stands Grizzly Bear Lodge uses in the fall are located on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. The stands are large enough to accommodate twelve guests but we only take a maximum of five per tour. The approach ramp to the to the viewing platform is a gated steel cage for a reason. The reason is the subadult bear (that equates to teenage human male) who are curious and like to investigate their surroundings. If this were a zoo we would be the ones in a cage.

 

Waiting for Salmon

Grizzly Sitting

The viewing stands we use after August 24 offer some interesting photo opportunities.  In the case it is a grizzly taking advantage of a strategically placed rock to rest while it waits for salmon to move up river into the spawning channel. The height provides a better view of the approaching salmon and a good position to launch an attack.

Grizzly on Whale Watching Tour

Grizzly on Tour

The grizzly bear population of Knight Inlet is healthy and growing. Over the past five years the number of sightings in the lower portion of the inlet near our lodge has increased. This past summer a grizzly visited our island for about a week before it moved on down the inlet. This photo was taken coming back from a whale watching day when we found a grizzly swimming between islands. It was working its way to Johnstone Strait, which separated the mainland from Vancouver Island that now has a small population of grizzlies. Historically there have never been grizzly bears on the Island but that changed six years ago when the first bear appeared near Kelsey Bay and more have arrived every year.

 

 

Grizzly Family Time

Grizzly bear family

Most grizzlies’ first year cubs prefer not to be in the water. When they first come to the beach in the spring and are required to swim along some to the steep bank beaches the mother are forced to abandoned them to force them into the water. After August 24th the viewing activity moves up the river after the salmon arrive. In this photo the cub made it to the rock near the fishing hole but choose a dry perch. As long as mom came by to check on a regular basis all was good.

 

 

Hungry Grizzly Bears

Young grizzlies feeding

Unlike the grizzly bear in the October 4th posting these bears are eating everything. There are two reason for their hunger: first the photo was taken in late August so the salmon have just arrived and second these juvenile bears are not the most experienced fisher so they eat everything they catch. Give these bear a few years and some experience and they will become more selective.